The present invention relates to thermal treatment apparatus for thermally treating selected tissues of a subject. The invention is particularly useful as a thermal treatment apparatus for treating prostate, bladder and uterus, and is described below particularly with respect to an apparatus for treating the prostate. The invention also relates to a catheter construction, a heater, a peristaltic pump, and a thermal sensor assembly, all especially useful in the novel thermal treatment apparatus.
Thermal treatment is now a recognized form of treatment of certain types of ailments including benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatitis, and prostate cancer. My prior U.S. application Ser. No. 07/669,366, filed Mar. 14, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,977 discloses one form of thermal treatment apparatus including a catheter insertable into the subject's urethra. The proximal end of the catheter includes an inflatable anchoring section in the form of a balloon to be anchored in the subject's bladder, and a heating section which, when the balloon is so anchored, extends through the subject's prostate. A heated liquid, such as water, is used to inflate the balloon and is also circulated through the heating section to heat the adjacent tissues of the prostate and the bladder neck.
The present invention relates to this type of thermal treatment apparatus but provides a number of important advantages, as will be described more particularly below.